Colin Wilson was born on 13 October 1899. His parents were Alfred Wilson and Blanche
(nee Mead). Alfred Wilson was the first
Minister of the Museum Street Central Perth Baptist Church. Blanche Mead was the younger daughter of
Silas Mead, the first Minister of Flinders Street Baptist Church, who was a key
person in the establishment of the Australian Baptist Missionary Society. Colin's aunt, Gertrude Mead, was the third woman
doctor to register in Western Australia (in 1901).
When Colin was 8 his family went to Wanganui, New Zealand, where his father was the Minister of the church there. They returned to Perth 1913 where Alfred worked as General Secretary of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA).
Colin was a well-liked person. He attended the Modern School, Perth, and was
in the tennis team and the cricket team.
Upon finishing school he worked as a bank clerk. He regularly attended Church with his parents
and younger brother, Bernard. From a
relatively young age he was the organist at the Museum Street Baptist Church
and he conducted the Sunday School choir – everyone universally agreed that he
excelled in music!
Colin was nearly 5 feet, 8 inches tall, weighing
117 pounds with a chest measurement of 30 inches / 33 inches when taking a
breath! He had a fair complexion, blue
eyes and light brown hair. We know these
rather personal details because when Colin was 18 years and 8 months he
enlisted for the Australian Imperial Force!
His record shows that he enlisted as a private on
27 June 1918. He had already been a
cadet for four years prior to this.
Colin was eager to serve his country.
Colin embarked on the HMAT “Boonah” at Fremantle
on 29 October 1918. The Boonah was carrying approximately 1000 soldiers and was the last troopship to carry men intended
for the battlefields of the Western Front.
The boat reached Durban, South Africa three days after the Armistice was
signed and so the boat returned to Australia!
Unfortunately when in South Africa the soldiers on board were exposed to
the Spanish Influenza. The boat returned to Fremantle but the
soldiers were not allowed to disembark due to the number of flu cases – nearly
300 of the soldiers were infected (space was at a premium on these boats and so
the disease spread very quickly). The whole situation was a debacle and badly handled! The sick
soldiers were transported to the quarantine station but it was not equipped to
handle so many patients and so, desperate by this point, the authorities called
for volunteers from a group of military nurses on board the Wyreema. Twenty nurses came to help – and four of
these would themselves eventually succumb to the Spanish Flu. Twenty six soldiers from the Boonah died.
Diagnosed on 12 December 1918, Colin died just two
days later at the Quarantine Station, Woodmans Point at 9am.
It was noted by The Daily News on Saturday 21
December 1910 that the “tragic death of Private Colin Wilson … has cast quite a
gloom over the Baptist Churches, among which he was widely known and
loved. A white memorial services will be
held in the Museum Street Baptist Church [Sunday 22 December], the Rev F.E.
Harry preaching on “A Soul of Honour”.”
 |
| The Central Baptist Sunday School Choir - with Colin Wilson in centre. |
RIP Colin…
